Automatic gun



May 28, 1940. H. HENNING AUTOMATIC GUN Filed Dec. 23, 1937 2Sheets-Sheet 1 In van for: l e/77127777 Henru'wg AUTOMATIC GUN FiledDec. 23, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Raw 0 F 1 6? A "I a (MI/Mm e2 l IwvenZor:

Hermann Her/774 775 y W W 18),? gflarweyg Patented 194% AUTOMATIC GUNHermann Henning, Berlin-Reinickendorf, Germany, assignor toRheinmetall-Borsig Aktiengesellscliaft, Dusseldorf, Germany, acorporation of Germany Application December 23, 1937, Serial No. 181,433

In Germany January 5, 1937 4 Claims.

The invention relates to an automatic gun having a sliding barrel and alocked breech, having a'locking member associated with a retainingdevice which holds the locking member firmly in a position in which itdoes not hinder the movements of the breech bolt, after the breech hasbeen released from the barrel. The retaining device is controlled by therelative movement between these parts. In such a gun when the breechbolt is drawn back for cooking and loading in order to initiate thefiring operation, then the locking effect between the barrel and boltceases immediately when the locking member slides off the breech boltand before the retaining device, which is designed as a slide, engagesthe locking member. In such a case the barrel actuating spring againmoves the barrel, and the breech bolt forward while the looking memberwhich has now swung into the locking position prevents the breech boltduring its forward movement, to take its locked position in the barrel.

In order to exclude such possibilities -of interruption of operation,movable members are provided on the breech bolt or on the locking memberwhich lengthen the mutual abutment surfaces of the bolt and the lockingmember, according to the present invention. The looking member, in itsswinging out movement from the position in which it locks the bolt andbarrel together, is in this manner constrained from performing anadditional movement, after unlocking has been effected, which allows theslide enough time to he thrust over the locking member and thereby tohold the barrel firmly in its rear end position, this being necessaryfor the correct return of the breech bolt into the barrel.

When the breech bolt returns into its proper or closed position in thebarrel, the said movable members move aside in order to permit thebreech bolt to move past to the locking member.

In the accompanying drawings which illustrate two typical embodiments ofthe invention-- Figure 1 is a fragmentary axial section of the gun withthe parts at rest.

Fig. 2 shows in a fragmentary longitudinal section a gun in which themechanism has attained a position wherein loading is prevented, and inwhich the breech bolt cannot run out properly into the forward endposition of the barrel, while Figs. 3 and 4 showone typical embodimentof the invention having a device which prevents this faulty position atthe moment of unlocking and the beginning of the locking of the bolt,and Figs. 5 and 6 show a modification of construction according to theinvention with the gun in the same positions.

On the drawings is shown a barrel b mounted to slide axially in thehousing a, while a breach bolt 0 is carried coaxially at the rear end ofthe barrel b and containing the firing pin ca adapted for a short backand forth movement therein. Beneath the breech bolt 0 is located in thebarrel b a stop slide e, actuated by a spring er and having a limitedmotion governed by a pin b2 fixed in the barrel. In an opening at theunderside of the housing a is inserted a magazine as for the cartridgesas, stacked upon a shelf a, which is pushed upwards by a spring as, soas to feed a cartridge at a time into the space formed between thebarrel end and the forward end of the breech bolt 0, when the latter hasrecoiled after firing the gun.

The barrel b has a lug b3 hanging down into a chamber formed at thebottom of the housing a, between .which lug b3 and the .rear wall of thehousing a is inserted a spring in urging the barrel b forward. A rockinglatch' 11 carried on the same lug bzis mounted to oscillate on a pin d1and the rocking lever d at its frame end carries the hammer or striker(is.

In the upper part of the housing is formed another chamber containing abreech bolt actuating spring a: compressed between the rear wall of thechamber and the rear end of a spring retainer as which has a lug G9permanently engaging a recess in the breech bolt 0 to lock themtogether, so that the recoil of the bolt 0 always compresses the spring02.

In the housing a. is also pivoted a spring actuated trigger a7 engagingin a notch of the barrel b to retain it in its rearmost position.

Upon firing the gun the breech bolt 0 and the barrel b. will travel tothe rear against the actuating springs b1: and. 02. By means of thecooperation 'between the rear surface d3 of the.

latch d and the shoulder or near the bottom of the housing a, the'frontend surface dz of the latch d enters behind the surface on of the breechbolt 0. The breech bolt c will now be pushed .still further back againstthe action of the bolt actuating spring or and locked by the rear aw inposition of rest with the trigger released, while the barrel b with thebarrel returning spring in compressed, is held back by means of theslide e set free from the breech bolt 0,- and is pushed over the forwardend of the breech latch d actuated by the spring e1.

' When the trigger is pulled, the compressed spring ca sends the breechbolt c forward, which brings a round of ammunition from the magazine axto the barrel. Shortly before meeting the barrel it hits the projectionez'of the slide e and pushes it forward, so that the forward end of thebreech latch d, on account of the cooperation of the surfaces d2, d4,swings upwardsthe combined action of the springs in and or,

the hammer d5 being hit by the inclined surface a: of the housing a.swings forward on its pivot pin carried by the latch d and strikes therear end ca of the firing pin, thereby firing the gun.

When the breech -bolt c, which is mounted so as to be longitudinallydisplaceable with the barrel b in the gun housing a, is drawn back inorder to cock the gun, the rear end dz of the breech latch 01 after ashort common backward movement rides up on the ramp or shoulder al ofthe housing, whereupon the front end d2 of the latch d slides down fromthe rear abut-' rel now move forward, the latch d rides up on the frontramp a: and by thereupon swinging into it its locking position preventsthe breech bolt 0, when it runs out, from entering the barrel, while theslide e by sliding slightly backwards under the influence of its springe1, may

cause a jamming of the latch d in the position shown in Fig. 2, in whichposition the upper reverse surface of the latch d lies in the path ofmovement of the parts on the periphery of'the breech bolt. The forwardlymoving breechbolt c is thus wedged on the reverse surface of the latch dwhich lies in its. path, and running out of the bolt into. the boltingposition is impossible. {in order to overcome this obstruction toloading, the barrel must be returned so that the latch d can be movedback enough to allow the slide e to engage over the projection do of thelatch, so that the breech bolt c will be able to move unhindered to theforward position in the barrel.

Such gun jammingis avoided in the example of construction illustrated inFigs. 3 and 4 by employing a movable pawl which is arranged on the rearend of the breech bolt. When the gun is cocked by the breech bolt beingdrawn back, the tongue 1 maintains the breech bolt 0 and the barrelcasing b locked to each other until return swinging movement of thelatch d occurs, to move over the front projection do and to hold thebarrel in the end position necessary for the subsequent proper runningout of the breech bolt c.

When the running out movement of the breech bolt c occurs, theprojection or on the bolt thrusts the shoulder e: of the slide, locatedin the path of the projection 01, against the influence of the springbiasing the slide, out of the position of engagement of the slide overthe projection do of the latch. The breech bolt '0 then moves forwardinto its front end position in the barrel and is now moved together withthe latter into the firing position, the latch d with its inclinedshoulder d4 being swung up by the housing guide a: into the position inwhich it bears behind the tongue ,f.

In the example of construction illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6, instead ofthe pawl or tongue I being pivotally mounted on the breech bolt, aspring-urged slide I2 is mounted in the head (is of the latch d.

Fig. 5 shows the position. at the moment of unlocking the bolt andbarrel and the additional movement f1 rendered possible by thespringurged slide ,fz,'and Fig. 6 the moment shortly before thebeginning of the locking of the bolt and barrel.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my saidinvention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare thatwhat I claim is:

1. An automatic gun having a sliding barrel arid a breech boltlongitudinally movable therein, comprising a latch between the barreland the breech bolt, a slide provided with a spring to hold the'latch inposition releasing the breech bolt and which is releasableagainst theaction of said spring by the forward movement of the breech relativelyto the barrel, and a resilient member associated with the breech boltand the latch extending the period of contact between the breech boltand the latch in order to secure the latch in position out of the pathof the breech bolt movement.

'2. In an automatic gunaccording to claim 1, in which the resilientmember is in the form of a tongue mounted on the breech bolt to increasethe length of contact with the breech bolt, said tongue being movabletoward the latch by a spring;

3. In an automatic gun according to claim 1, in which the resilientmember is in the form of a spring-urged member mounted in the front endof the latch to increase the period of contact of the latch and beingmovable by its spring in the direction toward the breech bolt.

4. An automatic gun having a sliding barrel and a breech boltlongitudinally movable therein, comprising a latch between the barreland the breech bolt, means to hold the latch in position releasing thebreech bolt and which.is releasable by the forward movement of thebreech relamovement.

Hm HENNING.

